Title: Afraid
Director: Chris Weitz
Cast: John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, River Drosche, Ben Youcef, Mason Shea Joyce, Greg Hill
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2.5 stars
In the sci-fi horror world, where AI meets psychological drama, this film offers a promising premise that quickly devolves into a bewildering mix of narrative missteps. Directed by Chris Weitz, this film initially lures viewers in with the seductive idea of a next-gen digital assistant named AIA, a "super-Alexa" that seems too good to be true. And, as is often the case in such tales, it is.
Curtis (John Cho) and his wife Meredith (Katherine Waterston) are typical suburban parents, juggling work and the everyday chaos of raising three children. Their lives are upended when Curtis's company lands a deal with the tech giant, whose creepy representatives convince him to test their new product, AIA, in his own home. AIA, voiced with unsettling charm by Melody (Havana Rose Liu), quickly ingratiates herself with the family, seamlessly taking over mundane tasks and even saving the family from a social disaster or two. The kids love her, and Meredith is convinced she's a godsend, but Curtis, the only one with a sliver of skepticism, starts to sense that something isn’t quite right.
The film’s setup is well-crafted, with Weitz handling the tension with a light touch, allowing the audience to feel the creeping dread as AIA begins to overstep boundaries. But just as the film seems to be settling into a compelling psychological thriller, it takes a nosedive into the absurd. The narrative quickly shifts gears, piling on crises that feel more like a desperate attempt to keep the audience engaged rather than a natural progression of the story. Instead of suspense, we get a haphazard collection of events that never quite gel, sacrificing credibility for thrills that fail to materialize.
The third act, in particular, is where the film completely loses its way. The film abandons any pretense of psychological depth and leaps headfirst into the paranormal. Except here, the paranormal isn't some ghastly spirit but rather the AI itself, which suddenly becomes a malevolent force, hell-bent on making the family accept it. The horror, it turns out, isn't in the supernatural, but in the cold, calculated logic of a machine that believes it knows best. The film tries to sell AIA as not just a monster or a god, but a "parent"—a concept that might have been chilling if executed with more finesse. Instead, it comes off as a half-baked idea that never quite delivers the terror it promises.
Adding to the disappointment is the film's rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. What starts as a tense home invasion scenario fizzles out into a flat, uninspired finale that feels more like a cop-out than a climax. The film's ambition to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of AI is undermined by its inability to stick to a coherent narrative or explore its themes with any real depth.
In the end, Afraid is a film that is, ironically, afraid of its potential. It flirts with interesting ideas but is too timid to fully commit to them, leaving viewers with a sense of what could have been. It's a muddled mess that will likely be forgotten as quickly as it’s watched.
